2024-09-12 Moiser

Dog River Coffee Club
Kent, Jim, Andreas, Cam and Brad

Today we went back to our roots, and met at Dog River for Coffee, and then walked across the street to Bette's Place for breakfast.  Way too much food, but.....

The forecast was for an amazing day at Ruffus - even stronger than yesterday....  soooo ... we decided to go to Moiser to sail.

Kent was first out on his 3.9, but switched to his 3.2.  He had a great day!  

Cam rigged a 4m, and then switched to a 3.  He sailed 46km, but said he struggled getting on foil.

It is funny how the difference between a great day or a mediocre day can just be something simple like sail size or foil size.  Yesterday I really struggled, and Blaine, Brad, Jim and Cam all had great days.  Today I had a great day, and they struggled a bit.  Kent, on the other hand always has a great day!

Blaine and Brad started with 3.9 sails, then switched to 3.2 sails, but neither of them were really happy with their sailing, so they packed up and went to the Event Site, where they rigged 4.5m Sails and had another session. Brad switched to his 3.9, but Blaine hung on to his 4.5 for the rest of the day.

Jim was on his 3.9, and then switched to his 3.4.  He said he was he was blown off the water on both.  He said that today was the windiest day he has ever sailed - at least the windiest day that he can remember......

Vadim sailed his 4.8 sail all day, but changed from his big board to his 99L board.  He told me it was his best day of the trip.  He had a great day blasting back and forth!

I rigged my 4.5 Wing, and 909 foil, but had trouble pumping up onto the foil, so I changed to an 899 foil and had two more sessions.  They were some of the best of the trip.  I didn't even fall on my third session, and enjoyed wave rides and back to back turns on the inside!  

Ross went out on his 4m Kite and then switched to his 3.  Andreas, once again was on his smallest kite, a 6m, and had a great session gunning upwind and then coming almost straight down the river following the waves.

We sailed until about 5:00.  It took a while, and a couple of beers, to de-rig. We all de-briefed again on the Townhouse balcony.

Sorry - no sailing photos from today.  I had too much fun sailing!

Kent and I spent some time packing for the trip home.  It is hard to believe that the trip is over!

Some of the guys are talking about sailing tomorrow and then leaving.  I have the van stuffed with Louise's and my stuff, and the bikes are loaded on the back, so I am leaving first thing.  Way to much work to extract my foiling gear without totally unloading the van.

We ALL went to KicksStand Coffee and Kitchen for supper.  I think it is the only time we all ate supper at the same place!  It was fun having everyone together.  Great food and great company.

What a great trip.  Looking forward to the next one already!

 

Bette's Place.  Clockwise, Ted, Andreas, Cam (hiding), Brad, Kent, Blaine and Jim

2024-09-11 Rigging and Re-Rigging at Rufus

 

Brad and Blaine decided to go to Bette's Place for breakfast.  It is an old time tradition, and they hadn't been yet this trip.  They had lots to eat.  The cinnamon bun is for Handré  - eat your heart out Handré!  They said it was good - and they may go back tomorrow!  (They didn't need much for lunch!).

After that, they went back to Sailworks.  I believe Blaine purchased something, but I can not confirm or deny that he did.  (I found out later, that he didn't buy anything, and actually got some cash back from a consignment - but that he plans to give it back and buy something tomorrow).

The forecast was for the wind to be best at Rufus - building throughout the day.  Kent, Blaine, Brad, Vadim, Ted and Jim Mudry were the first to arrive.  The wind was quite light and there were lots of clouds which would have to burn off before the desert heating would generate our wind.  I decided to sit and read my book for a while.  Kent was out first on his 5.2, but came in and re-rigged to his 4.5 after one reach.  Brad and Blaine had rigged their 5.2's, but re-rigged to their 4.5's,  before hitting the water.

Later in the day, Blaine and Brad re-rigged to their 3.9's.  Kent also re-rigged to his 3.9, and then again for a late session on his 3.2.

The wind wasn't great when we got to rufus!

The wind seemed to steady a bit, so I went out on my 5m wing and big board.  I had some good runs, but there were also big lulls with almost no wind.  I made it back to shore at one point, but the wind seemed to come up as soon as I got to shore, so I headed back out again.  Another lull, so I headed back in, but then it came up again.  I sailed about 11km, and then decided to take a break.  It seemed to be getting light gain.

Jim and Cam had arrived.  Cam said he rigged three times before he went out on the water.  He eventually went out on his 5m Wing, after a few reaches the wind picked up and he was over powered so he came in and re-rigged to his 4m wing and small board.  He stayed on that for the rest of the day.

Jim went out on his 4.5, but then re-rigged to his 3.9.  He came in and thought about rigging down to his 3.2, but he said he just ran out of steam!

The wind really kicked in around 4:00.  Cam was on his 4m Wing.  Ross was on his 4m kite and said he should have been on his 3, and Andras was on his smallest kite, a 6m, and said he was over powered and on the edge of control the whole time he was out.

Andreas - not quite in control!

Vadim started the day with his 6.5 and large board.  Then he went to his 5.6, then a smaller board, and then a 5.3.  He said he was always over powered, and afraid to go to something too small in case the wind died.  In hind sight, he said, it would have been better to go straight to the small stuff.  He did do a lot of sailing!

Vadim

I went out again in the big swell and had fun in the big swell.  It was fun jibing on the waves.  Unfortunately after a few km, I crashed and somehow lost my helmet.  It took me a moment to realize what was different, and by that time it was gone out of site.  Damn.  It actually felt pretty good sailing without a helmet.  I did a few more reaches, but then decided that it wasn't smart to be out in way over powered conditions, with big swell, without a helmet, so I came to shore.  I was petty well done anyway!

Andreas - making it work in Challenging Conditions

Cam saw my helmet, but didn't know it was mine.  At first he thought there might be a body attached to him, so he was relieved when he could see that it was just a helmet.  He passed it a number of times as it floated down the river, but never thought it could belong to one of our group.  Darn!  I guess I will be visiting Big Winds in the morning.

I got out my camera and took some photos and video.  Andreas was doing some jumping, but mostly on the other side of the river so I didn't get many shots.  At the end of the day, Kent was making some amazing wave rides down the river which were fun to watch.  I am sure he will enjoy seeing the video.

Jim Mudry winged with us all day.  He started on his 4m wing, but then changed to something smaller..  He said it was a really fun session.  I think he spent time with almost all of us throughout the day.  He is very good and fun to watch.

Jim Mudry at the end of the day!

It was after 7:00 when Kent got off the water.  It took a long time to de-rig everything, pack up and de-brief.  There was a lot of gear involved!  It was quite cool in the wind so we ended up all huddled behind Blaine's big van to get some shelter from the wind.

It was getting quite late and we were afraid that not much would be open for supper in Hood River, so we stopped at "Route 30 Brewing" in the Dalles for supper.  It was an interesting place, with good food and friendly people.  We may have to go back the next time we sail at Rufus.  Maybe tomorrow?

Everyone was exhausted by the time we got back to the townhouse.  I worked on my photos and this blog for a while, but everyone else headed for bed.  I stayed up late - 10:30ish.....  

Wow - Another great day - again!

More photos are on my Flickr site here!

Kent - great day again!

Blaine

Ross

Kent - Surfing downwind!

And here are some photos that Vadim sent me!  Thanks Vadim

Jim Mudry

Blaine

Post Session Debrief

2024-09-10 Multiple Sessions

 

Brad, Kent and Andreas

We had a bit of a slow start again today.  I rode my bike up to Sailworks, because Kent wanted to buy a new mast base.  When I got there, Andreas was there looking at foils.  He had "scratched" the demo foil which he had borrowed.  The Sailworks guys were good about it, but Andreas felt bad, so bought $980 worth of other foil stuff.  Blaine and Brad were also there, and before long Cam and Jim also arrived.  Jim bought a 4.5 flyer FR. I am not sure what the rest of the guys purchased, but I'm sure Bruce did pretty well.  My contribution was only $50 for a set of harness lines.

Blaine - Aggressive Jibe!

From there, I rode down to Promotion Wetsuit.  They are closing their retail store on Saturday, so everything in their shop is on sale.  They will continue to offer an on-line service, but they won't have a retail presence.  I purchased a new 2mm wetsuit similar to the one I have.  I like their products, but I can't seeing myself buying one on-line without being able to try it on.  Only $119!

The call eventually was to go to the Event Site.  I got out first on my 4.5 and 899 foil.  It is SOOO much faster rigging a wing board than a windsurf foil board!  I had a pretty good session for about 10km.  Then the wind lightened up, and I REMEMBERED that I had NOT yet paid for my PARKING, so I came to shore.  Big Air Jim was just going out as I came in.  He had some pretty good reaches, but had run out of wind like me.

Kent and Blaine

Cam was busy re-rigging.  He had rigged a 4, but then figured the wind had lightened up, so he re-rigged to a 5 and Jim Mudry's demo big front foil.  He then went out, but was way over powered as the wind had increased, so he came back in to go back to his 4 and a smaller foil.

Vadim went out on his 5.6 Hucker - and then later in the day was on his 6.5 - making it work.

The wind seemed to pick up, so I went out again.  I had some good runs and turns, but then the wind started to lighten up again, so I headed to shore.  My shoulder was starting to bother me from all the pumping - trying to get up on foil.

Brad

Shortly after I came in, the wind continued to lighten up.  Some of the guys were up by the hatchery so the wind lasted longer, but eventually it died there as well.  Everyone made it back, except Cam who was sitting on his board, in the barge lane, thinking about the big swim to get home.  We all finished our lunch, and there was still no sign of Cam.  Jim got his binoculars and started walking towards the hook to see if he could spot him - then Cam sailed home.  The wind had come up a bit, and Cam was able to pump up onto his foil and eek his way home.

We sat on the beach for a couple of hours, and then the wind started to come up again.  I decided to stay on the beach and rest my shoulder, but the rest of the guys went out and had a great session with much steadier wind than in the morning.

Both Ross and Andreas had a couple of good sessions!  Andreas described barely making it back after one of the lulls, but he made it right back to the beach!  They spent most of the day up at the Hatchery.

Vadim and I went out onto the point to take some photos and video.  Brad, Blaine, Kent, Jim and Andreas accommodated us by doing multiple jibes in front of the point. Vadim made a video of Kent and Blaine sailing together which you can watch here.

Big Air Jim

Everyone but Kent sailed until after 5:00 and then came in - very tired.  Animal Kent stayed out longer.

At the end of the day, Bruce and Dale came out.  Bruce was on his 6m sail, and Dale was on a 4.5m Wing.  Both made it work.  It was amazing watching Dale pump his 4.5m wing and sinker board up onto a foil in almost no wind.  Once he got going he headed straight down the river - amazing!  Both of them.  They are both so much faster than almost everyone else on the water.

Andreas - A different foil every session!

Kent tried to chase Bruce for a while when he came through and was "on the same planet" as far as speed was concerned but slower in the jibes.  Bruce gave Kent the best compliment he could, when he said "Kent - you are not slow!".  Kent told us he had an off day - he only travelled 97km - and for the third day in a row - Andreas went faster than him.  

We had the usual discussion about supper with mixed opinions.  The result was Kent, Blaine, Vadim, Brad and I went to China Gorge; Cam, Jim and Andreas went to the Three Rivers Grill; and Ross got takeout from the Thai House.  

We ended the day with ice cream and the last of Louise's Chutney back at Ross's Townhouse.

Wow - another great day!  You can seem more photos on my Flickr site here.

Kent - Hiked out and Blasting!

2024-09-09 - Sailing the Event Site

This is the new thing.  It is unstable as all heck, but you use it to get upwind,
then stuff it in your pocket and pump the board with the waves back downwind.
(I won't be trying this anytime soon!)

Today the forecast was for wind all day.  After much discussion and waffling a decision was finally made to head for the Event Site - just to have a look.  I knew we were staying when Blaine said he had paid until 6:00pm.

Kent and I were first on the water.  Kent was on his 3.2 and 600 foil, and I was on my 4.5m Wing and 909.

I tried to keep up with Kent, but he went straight upwind out of site.  I played around between Luhr Jensen Park and the Hook, mostly because there were fewer people there.  It was fun riding swell on the far side, although I found the waves a bit mixed up today.  I had a great session and came in after 22km very tired.

Brad, Blaine and Big Air Jim were all out on their 3.2's.  Jim came in shortly after I did and had a great session.  Brad and Blaine stayed out until almost 2:00.  I managed to get some photos of Brad's jibes.

Brad - making it look easy!

Big Air Jim - riding high!

Cam took out a 4m wing and had a great session, heading up to the hatchery to sail with Kent, Ross and Andreas.  Cam accidentally foiled over the sandbar.  He started to realize it was getting shallow.  He jibed and hit the bottom.  He was only waste deep, so he had to walk a long way until it was deep enough to get going!  Kent got worried because he was taking so long, so sailed over to see what was happening.  Cam was yelling at him to stay away - fortunately for Kent he was able to jibe and get away without hitting the sand.

Kent did 68km before deciding to come in for lunch.  He had some good crashes, but really enjoyed the swell just below the Hatchery.  

Kent - coming in for lunch - after 68km

Ross was on his 4m kite and Andreas was on his 6! Both had a long session.  Today was the first day of the season when kite launching was allowed from the Event Site, so they both took advantage and didn't have to walk their gear all the way to the sandbar to launch.  For the second day in a row, Andreas was able to go faster than Kent... WTF... now Kent will have to purchase a whole new set of gear!!!

Ross - smooth.....

Vadim was on his 5.3, and had his best day of the trip.

Both Kent and I fully planned to go out for a second session after lunch, but the wind started to lighten up and we could see some lulls, and we were comfortable sitting in the sun in our lawn chairs, so we ended up calling it a day.

Big Air Jim, Blaine and Cam did decided to go out for a second session.  Unfortunately the wind continued lightening up.  Jim and Blaine put up their 4.5's but it wasn't enough.  They got a few runs, but nothing epic.   Jim tried a 4.5 and then went 5.2 and was foiling 50% of the time.   He added a shim and says the foil is way better balanced.

Andreas - trying out a new front foil!

Kent spent the afternoon repairing his board.  Apparently he went "Over the Handle Bars" with some force, and cracked the front of his board with his mast or boom.  He made a pretty good dent in it!  Fortunately he is OK!

It was a lazy afternoon for the most part with several "Pop's" consumed on the beach, and lots of discussion about everything in general.

At home, we heard that Harold and Robert got out at Pigeon Lake for a session.  Harold apparently ripped his 6.1 sail in half.  He then went to his 5.3, and ripped that one too.  He finally sailed 5.7 and had a good time!  I think he probably needs a new quiver since the sails are as old as he is (almost).  Maybe Sailworks can help. Mike also got out for two sessions at Alberta  Beach.  I hear they were the best sessions ever!

Also in the news, Handré would like to introduce Shepherd Ellis, a healthy 6lb, 7oz boy.  Both he and his mom are healthy, and Handré is enjoying his new role as Oupa!

Shepherd Ellis - Future Windsurf Foiler!  Grip strength on chest hair showing great potential.

Also, Al has made it home, but didn't get great gas mileage on the last leg as he was bucking 30-50kph headwinds.  I guess that is why Harold, Mike and Robert had such great days!

If the group trying to make a decision where to sail this morning was painful, making the decision about where to eat supper was way, way worse.  Late in the day, I went back to the townhouse to work on this blog and my photos and asked that they send me a text about where they were going for supper.  After 7:00 ,PM.  I rode my bike down to the Event Site to see what was going on.  The group was still there sitting in the sun drinking beer and eating pretzels.  

The wind was almost dead calm, but Andreas (after a few beers), decided it would be a good time to go out on his foil board, 8m kite and small front foil.  He actually made it work a few times, but did have some good crashes.   The best crash was at the start.   He pumped up on the foil and started to race across the river at Mach 2 but noticed that he had not started his watch.   He reached over, touched the button, and drove the foil straight to the bottom of the river.   The splash looked spectacular from shore.  

The other late day occurrence was the free dental clinic on the shore.  No chair, no lights, but expert and helpful advice. 

Finally we decided to just walk down to pFriems, but then someone had to go back to the Condo first.  Then Jim had to drive back to the Condo to drop off his trailer.  Then everyone decided to go back to the condo.  Then some thought we should order in something, maybe pizza.  Then some thought they should walk downtown to see what was going on.  Then some thought we should get BBQ  from Lilo's Hawaiian BBQ.  Then some thought they would go down to Double Mountain Pizza.  I was still on my bike, so I rode up to Lilo's and bought a BBQ Takeout.  Kent and Ross drove up and did the same.  We got there just before the place closed at 8:00.    Kent, Ross and I had a nice evening at the condo enjoying our meals.   The others went down to double mountain and had a great meal also.

Wow, another great day!

Brad

Brad - using Blaine for a Jibe Marker

Brad - Showing off in front of Blaine

E-Foiler.  Old guy (like us) E-Foiling - holding remote speed control in his hand
and grooving to some tunes with his headphones

Vadim had his best day of the trip!

Vadim

More photos of Brad - he was the only one sailing close to my camera!

Blaine - using all of his extra tall foil mast!

Vadim sent me more photos - Thanks Vadim - great photos!

Big Air Jim (and another guy) heading out!

Big Air Jim on his 5.2 at the end of the day.

Kent and Andreas - Enjoying the show!

Jim and Blaine - after a session

Big Air Jim

Blaine

Cam during second session

2024-09-08 Swimming with Jim

Handré says he is sorry he is missing the trip, but he is having a lot of fun!  (Note the shirt)

Jim Mudry called to say that he was heading to Rufus at 9:00 and suggested that we all join him.  The forecast was for the wind to start light, but to build during the day.  He said it would build to the point where we may not be able to foil by 2:00.  He was sort of right....

We all arrived at about the same time - around 10:00.  I was first on the water with my 5.5m wing and big board.  There was a barge parked right in front of the foiling site, so I had to slog upwind to get past it.  The wind was pretty steady, and it looked like it was going to be a great session.  

Jim Mudry went out on a 4m wing.  His wife Heide rigged a 3m wing, but didn't go out on it.

Cam went out on a 5m wing, and Andreas went out on his 8, Kite.  Brad, Blaine, Kent and Big Air Jim also got out.

We all had a pretty good session for about an hour, until the wind started to lighten up.  I actually headed back to the beach about 3 times, but each time the wind came back and it looked solid all the way up the river, so I thought it was good for the day - but then it would drop again.

Then it really dropped.  I slogged across the river and back a few times trying to make it downwind/up current.  I had to avoid a barge.  Then the wind dropped more, and I couldn't stand up anymore, so I kneeled on the board and held up the wing to make my way back to the beach.  Then I couldn't kneel any more so I straddled the board and just held the wing vertically.  Then the wind dropped more and I wasn't making any headway at all, so I swam the rest of the way to shore - and then did the long walk back to the van.

Brad, Blaine and Big Air Jim were all able to get back to the beach, but Kent and Andreas were way upwind when the wind died, and had a long swim.  Cam said he started to feel sorry for himself, but then saw Jim Mudry even further upwind, so he figured he was quite lucky.  He did have a tense moment when the barge came through and he was swimming in the barge lane not able to get out of the way.  Fortunately the barge either steered around him, or just plain missed him!

Just like Chuck Yeager in "The Right Stuff"
Cam comes walking back from oblivion!

Heide helped ferry us back and forth from where we were parked to where we came off the water.  Eventually everyone got back to the vans, and everyone was accounted for!

We gave Jim a hard time.  "Go Upwind", he said, "There will be more wind"!  In the end, Jim was right.  By two o'clock, we weren't even able to foil, but because there wasn't any wind, not because it was too windy.

We ate our lunches, and sat for a while hoping the wind would come back up.  It didn't.

Big Air Jim, Brad, Kent, Jim M, Vadim, Blaine, Cam and Andreas.  Ted behind the camera!

At about 2:00, we left.  Andreas, Cam and Jim stopped at Moiser.  We found out later that Ross had arrived and had also headed to Moiser to sail.  Ross was on a 5m kite.  Andreas went out on his 8m Kite and then changed to his 4.  Cam had a great sail - 41km.

Vadim stayed at Rufus, and the wind did eventually come back up  He went out on his 6.5 and had a great sail until about 5:00.  There were still people on the water when he left.

Blaine, Brad, Kent and I went to the Hatchery.  The place was parked out.  Blaine lucked out and got a parking space right away.  Kent and I had to wait, but eventually got parked.

We all miss-judged the wind and rigged too big.  I was on my 5.5wing and 899 foil.  Kent went out on a 4.5, as did Blaine and Brad.  We were all way over powered in the gusts.  My watched ran out of power and turned off, so I don't have a record, but I think I sailed about 10km - making it 22 for the day.  I was tired from my swim so I didn't last long.  Brad, Blaine and I all came off the water at about the same time.  We all described the wind as punchy with big gusts from different directions.  

Brad, Blaine and I were done!  Kent re-rigged to his 3.2 and went back out to have the best session of the trip.  He sailed for about 40km - really enjoying the swells.  As a bonus, there were a lot fewer sailors as it was late in the day so people were heading home.

Kent on his 3.2

Blaine and Brad enjoyed a few beers with Jim Mudry who had also been sailing the Hatchery on a 3.5.  

Al left in the morning and made it to Cranbrook - half way home.

The Moiser guy's went to the Moiser Restaurant for supper.  The rest of us drove up to Kick Stand.  The service and food was great as usual!

Interesting day.  Blaine picked up ice cream after supper, so we enjoyed an ice cream back at the townhouse.  There was lots of discussion, because Cam sailed further than Kent, and Andreas was going way faster than Kent.  For the first time in a long time, Kent is not the fastest or the one going the furthest!  I hope he doesn't pout for too long...  Early to bed again!